Customer relationship manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a customer relationship manager. Customer relationship managers usually study business, marketing, or finance. 59% of customer relationship managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 3,896 real customer relationship manager resumes to see exactly what customer relationship manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for customer relationship managers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online customer relationship manager courses to help get the education required to be a customer relationship manager.

There are certain customer relationship manager certifications that you should consider. These customer relationship manager certifications include Certified Manager Certification (CM) and International Accredited Business Accountant (IABA).

What education do you need to become a customer relationship manager?

What degree do you need to be a customer relationship manager?

The most common degree for customer relationship managers is bachelor's degree, with 59% of customer relationship managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 15% and associate degree degree at 10%.

Bachelor's, 59%

Associate, 15%

Master's, 10%

High School Diploma, 9%

Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a customer relationship manager?

You should major in business to become a customer relationship manager. 37% of customer relationship managers major in business. Other common majors for a customer relationship manager include marketing and finance.

Business, 37%

Marketing, 7%

Finance, 6%

Communication, 5%

Other Majors, 45%

Most common colleges for customer relationship managers

Customer relationship managers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, SUNY Buffalo State, and Strayer University. Here are the most common colleges for customer relationship managers in the US based on their resumes.

Customer relationship manager common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	21.60%
SUNY Buffalo State	8.53%
Strayer University	8.00%
Norfolk State University	7.47%
Old Dominion University	6.13%

Show more common customer relationship manager colleges

Best majors for customer relationship managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	37.2%
2	Marketing	6.5%
3	Finance	5.8%
4	Communication	5.3%
5	Psychology	5.0%

Show more common customer relationship manager majors

Best colleges for customer relationship managers

The best colleges for customer relationship managers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A customer relationship manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for customer relationship managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become customer relationship managers.

1. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

4. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

5. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

6. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

7. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

8. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

9. SUNY College of Agriculture & Technology at Morrisville

Morrisville, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,670

Enrollment

2,758

10. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

20 best online courses for customer relationship managers

Advertising disclosure

1. Customer Relationship Management A Retail Perspective

4.5

(425)

The success of your business through managing relationships with customers effectively...

2. CRM: Customer Relationship Management

4.4

(1,546)

Practical Ideas To Generate Sales, Loyalty And Repeat Business Fast...

3. Customer Service Training: Dealing with Difficult Customers

4.5

(1,035)

Learn how to deal with difficult customers Master customer relationship management Gain conflict management skills...

4. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

4.5

(941)

Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

5. Brilliant Customer Service: How to Impress your Customers!

4.7

(12,891)

Enhance your customer support and truly differentiate yourself from your competition!...

6. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

4.6

(2,666)

Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

7. Start Improving Customer Service

4.8

(2,040)

Creating a Customer Service advantage in Your department or business through communication and Customer Management...

8. Customer Service Foundation

4.5

(290)

An introductory course about understanding the foundations of Customer Service...

9. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

4.7

(18,204)

Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

10. Customer Service: 6 Keys To Exceptional Customer Service

4.6

(601)

Master Customer Satisfaction & Astonish Your Customers With A+ Customer Service...

11. Customer Service

4.6

(11,267)

How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...

12. Customer Service Fundamentals: Putting People First

4.4

(313)

Customer Care Listening Great Customer Service Concern for Others Company Culture Engaging People Responding...

13. The Customer: Build a Customer Service Strategy (BITE SIZE)

4.5

(10,168)

For you and your team to be successful in providing great customer service, start by putting your customer first...

14. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

15. [2023] Customer Service 2.0: Learn Digital Customer Service

4.5

(3,956)

Used by Chase®, Intel®, & more! Learn soft skills, social media customer service, diagnosing user problems, & more...

16. Customer Success: Build Cross-Functional Relationships

4.4

(3,178)

Lead through influence and collaboration with marketing, sales, support, services, product, finance, and leadership...

17. Essential Customer Success

4.5

(363)

The definitive Customer Success Management course. Practical resources for professional Customer Success Managers...

18. Dealing With Angry Customers

4.3

(254)

Skills and Techniques for Handling Most Customer Situations...

19. Customer Success Manager (CSM) Elite

4.6

(1,178)

Accelerate your Customer Success career with actionable strategies you can implement immediately...

20. Customer Experience Management Essentials

(308)

Learn How To Measure And Improve Customer Loyalty...

Top 10 most affordable universities for customer relationship managers

The most affordable schools for customer relationship managers are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - bakersfield, and university of florida.

If the best universities for customer relationship managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for customer relationship managers.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

5. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

7. Dickinson State University

Dickinson, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$6,768

Cost of attendance

15,506

8. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

9. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

10. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for customer relationship managers

The hardest universities for customer relationship managers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for customer relationship managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for customer relationship managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

8. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,448

9. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for customer relationship managers

The easiest schools for customer relationship managers to get into are D'Youville College, gwynedd mercy university, and mount saint mary's university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a customer relationship manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for customer relationship managers.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

3. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

4. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

5. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

6. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

7. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

8. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

10. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

Average customer relationship manager salary by education level

Customer relationship managers with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $111,129 annually. With a Master's degree, customer relationship managers earn a median annual income of $103,826 compared to $91,909 for customer relationship managers with an Bachelor's degree.

Customer relationship manager education level	Customer relationship manager salary
Master's Degree	$103,826
High School Diploma or Less	$78,169
Bachelor's Degree	$91,909
Doctorate Degree	$111,129
Some College/ Associate Degree	$80,900

Customer relationship manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Customer Relationship Managers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.

Search for customer relationship manager jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs